Picture holding furniture panel



y 1951 R. c. BocKus 2,550,762

PICTURE HOLDING FURNITURE PANEL Filed Dec. 2'7. 1946 f /2H d it: 42

/8 22 1 28 22 /6/ m I I I I I l j fi 3% //I M26 4/ INVENTOR. 6 16 hill:

Patented May 1, 1951 Rubert C. Bockus, Gardner, Mass., assignor to Gem Crib and Cradle Company, Gardner, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application December 27, 1946, Serial No. 718,877

2 Claims.

This invention relates to panels for furniture such as cribs, beds, childrens play yards, etc., and the invention relates more particularly to means for holding pictures in such panels in a manner so that the occupant of the furniture cannot easily detach the picture or any part of th holder,

The principal object of the invention resides in the provision of a picture holding panel for furniture comprising an opening in said panel at an edge thereof and including abutting means at each side of the panel for slidably securing therebetween a pair of transparent sheets of material, such as glass or Lucite, said sheets of material being adapted to firmly hold therebetween a picture or the like.

Further objects of the invention reside in the provision of a picture holder as above recited including a rail at the edge of the panel, said rail having an opening therein defining one edge of the picture holder so as to provide a frame therefor and including detachable means for covering and concealing the opening in the panel and in the rail.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a furniture panel illustrating the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the furniture panel with a part removed;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on line 33 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a view in elevation of one of the transparent sheets used to hold the picture in place.

As shown in Fig. 1 the panel may comprise an extensive sheet In which may be made of any usual material, supported on legs I2 and provided with a top rail I4 and a rail in spaced parallel relation thereto as at I6. It is to be understood that this panel may form an end member of a crib, or it may be a head board for a bed or a panel for a child's play yard, etc.

The rails I4 and 5 are wider than the thickness of the panel and extend therebeyond to overhang the same at both side surfaces thereof as will be apparent in Fig. 3. The panel itself is provided with an opening l'8 defined by dotted lines in Fig. 1, this opening extending to the top edge of the panel and being in alignment with an opening or slot 20 in the top rail l4. This opening may terminate at the top surface of rail l6.

Side members 22 are secured to the surfaces of the panel between the rails 14 and [6 at both sides of the panel and in overlapping relation to the" opening 18 as is clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3. The side members 22 have a thickness corresponding to the difference between the thickness of the panel I0 and the overhang of the rails. These side members provide, in conjunction with slot 20, side guides or abutments for the insertion of a pair of transparent sheets 24, these sheets being of a size to fit and close the opening l8 and being provided with'tabs 26 which extend above rail M as indicated in Fig. 1.

The sheets 24 may hold between them a picture 28 which will be seen from both sides of the panel. If desired two pictures in back to back relation may be used or a single transparency is also effective.

A removable covering piece 30 provided with a slot 32 to receive tabs 26, and having pins 34 to fit in holes 36- in the top rail I4 is provided for covering the slot 20 so as to prevent accidental extraction of the sheets and the picture.

It will be seen that this invention provides an ornamental furniture panel having means for holdin a replaceable picture in such a relation that the occupant, for instance of a crib, will not be able to remove the cover piece 30 and extract the transparent sheets in the picture; and at the same time, the picture is not capable of bein withdrawn laterally as would be the case if the conventional picture frame were used on the panel. The invention provides a very attractive and ornamental panel for furniture which, however, does not lose any of its useful purposes when embodied in a piece of furniture.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed otherwise than is set forth in the claims but what I claim is:

1. A picture panel having an opening therethrough, side guides defining the sides of the opening, a pair of transparent sheets held in the guides and slidable therein, a rail across the top of the opening and having a slot therein through which the sheets are insertable, tabs on the sheets extending above the rail with the sheets covering the opening, and a removable cover piece covering the slot and having a concealed bottom recess receiving and concealing the tabs.

2. A picture holding panel for an article of furniture comprising a rail on the panel, said rail being thicker than the panel and overhanging the panel at the side surfaces thereof, an opening in the rail, said opening being narrower than the rail, an opening in the panel coinciding with the rail opening and extending inwardly of a s a the panel and rail, side pieces on the panel over- REFERENCES CITED lapping the panel opening at opposite side The following references are of record in the faces thereof, a pair of transparent sheets deme of this patent:

tachably held between the side pieces and. coextensive with the panel opening, and a cover piece UNITED STATES PATENTS detachably covering the rail opening and having Number Name Date a bottom recess, handle tabs on the sheets ex- 571,768 Jones Nov. 24, 1896 tending through the rail opening and received 1,571,098 Rimke Jan. 26, 1926 in and concealed by said recess. -1,867,323 Meyer July 12, 1932 29 1,880,828 Courtenay Oct. 4, 1932 RUBERT C. BOCKUS. 1,892,492 Molner Dec. 27, 1932 2,010,274 Pleuthner Aug. 6, 1935 

